Apparatus for the winding of roller-driven, cross-wound bobbins



Dec. 21, 1965 P. K. NOORDENBOS 3,224,695

APPARATUS FOR THE WINDING 0F ROLLER-DRIVEN, CROSS-WOUND BOBBINS Filed Feb. 11, 1964 INVENTOR.

PIETER KLAAS NOORDENBOS United States Patent F 3,224,695 APPARATUS FOR THE WINDING OF RQLLER- DRIVEN, CRQSS-WOUND ROBBINS Pieter K. Noordenbos, Ede, Netherlands, assignor to American Erika Corporation, Enlta, N.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 11, 1964, Ser. No. 344,048 Claims priority, application Netherlands, Feb. 14, 1963, 289,015 Claims. (Cl. 242-45) The invention relates to an improved apparatus for the winding of a roller-driven, cross-wound bobbin wherein a shaft to which the bobbin support is fixedly connected is drivingly coupled to a mechanism for guiding the yarn being wound in a direction traverse the bobbin surface and more particularly to such an apparatus wherein an independently driven friction member communicates, in the direction of the driving of the traverse mechanism, an auxiliary torque to the coupling between the bobbin support shaft and the traverse mechanism.

It will be understood that the term cross-wound bobbin, as employed herein, is intended to refer to conventionally available cross-wound bobbins of all shapes, including cylindrical and conical cross-wound bobbins, as well as crosswound bobbins with tapered ends.

In roller-driven, cross-wound bobbin winding apparatus, adapted with a traverse mechanism drivingly coupled to the bobbin support shaft, the traverse mechanism conventionally comprises a rotatable hollow drum having a curved groove in its surface running traverse the length. In the surface groove of the drum is positioned a yarn guiding means which is adapted to move along the path of the groove upon the rotation of the drum. In previously known apparatus of this type, the grooved drum of the traverse mechanism is driven through gears from the shaft of the bobbin support and is freely rotatably mounted on a shaft which itself is driven through gears from the driving roller at a higher speed than the driving roller. This arrangement causes a frictional force to be set up between the grooved drum and the shaft upon which it is mounted whereby the shaft communicates to the grooved drum a moment which reduces the moment required for driving the grooved drum by means of the shaft of the bobbin support and consequently the moment requisite for driving said driving roller. Apparatus of this type have not yielded completely satisfactory results. The moment required to be communicated to the yarn package being wound by the driving roller still is sufficiently high so that it is difiicult to maintain a uniform tension in the winding yarn and in many instances the yarn builds up on the package too tightly. In addition, the relatively high moment required to be communicated to the yarn package by the driving roller may, and often does, result in undesirable yarn package quantity and quality-reducing slippage between these two members. In such previously available winding apparatus, moreover, the moment communicated to the grooved drum by its mounting shaft is not uniform in that as the yarn package grows in size, the relative speed between the drum and its mounting shaft is altered, and consequently said moment is gradually changed.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for winding yarn on a roller-driven, cross-wound bobbin which obviates the above-mentioned disadvantages of similar apparatus heretofore available.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for winding yarn on a rollerdriven, cross-wound bobbin which enables the winding operation to be carried out efiiciently.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro- Patented Dec. 21, 1965 ice vide an improved apparatus for winding yarn on a rollerdriven, cross-wound bobbin which is characterized by a reduction in the moment required to be communicated to the yarn package by the driving roller as compared to correspondingly operating similar winding apparatus heretofore available.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for winding yarn on a roller-driven, cross-wound bobbin which advantageously allows the yarn winding to be carried out with the yarn being under essentially uniform tension.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for winding yarn on a rollerdriven, cross-wound bobbin which enables yarn packages to be wound which are sufficiently compact yet not overly tight.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for winding yarn on a rollerdriven, cross-wound bobbin which advantageously elliciently operates without any significant amount of slippage occurring between the yarn package and driving roller.

It is a particular object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for winding yarn on a roller-driven, cross-wound bobbin which advantageously is adapted to function satisfactorily with the driving roller communicating only a relatively small moment to the yarn package and the traverse mechanism operating essen tially in synchronism with the rotating yarn package.

These and other advantages, as will be apparent, are provided by the apparatus of the present invention of which the following is a designation.

Broadly described, the present invention provides an apparatus comprising a cross-wound bobbin fixedly mounted on a rotatable shaft, a rotatable roller adapted to operatively engage the surface of said bobbin and drive said bobbin, a device for guiding yarn onto the surface of said bobbin, means for causing said yarn-guiding device to traverse the surface of said bobbin including a rotatable drum having a groove in the surface thereof in which said groove said yarn-guiding device is positioned and adapted for movement along the length of said drum, a shaft for mounting said drum, and coupling means for communicating the rotation of said bobbinmounting shaft to said drum including a force-intensifying device, said force-intensifying device including a friction member and a shaft adapted to rotate in the same direction at a greater speed than the speed imparted to said friction member, said friction member being in slidable frictional engagement with said shaft of said forceintensifying device.

In preferred embodiments of the invention the friction member of the force-intensifying device is a ribbonshaped or cord-shaped member which winds and passes a plurality of times around the friction member-engaging shaft. When this type of force-intensifier is in operation, the tension in the engaging end of the friction member passing around the shaft in contact therewith is, in the direction of the disengaging end, multiplied by a constant factor which is independent of the speed of said friction member and that of the shaft around which it is wound. It is advantageous to drive the shaft of the force-intensifying device at a speed which provides a substantially constant and small difference between it and that of the friction member passing around it. In this way the transformation of an unnecessarily large amount of mechanical energy into frictional heat is precluded. According to certain embodiments of the invention this result may be realized if the driving system for the shaft of the force-intensifying device is adapted with a control means which is able to adjust the speed J of the shaft as the yarn package grows in size, e.g., such as by sensing and responding to displacements of the shaft of the bobbin support.

The point at which the force-intensifying device is attached to the coupling means and winding apparatus may vary to suit existing apparatus.

In one embodiment of the invention the shaft of the force-intensifying device is mounted freely rotatable on the shaft of the bobbin support, and the friction member, preferably a ribbon or cord-like member, is wound around the force-intensifying shaft and attached to the bobbin support shaft by any suitable means, such as brackets.

A preferred embodiment, according to the invention, is an apparatus of the type in which the grooved traverse drum itself also is mounted freely rotatable on the shaft of the force-intensifier and is attached to and dragged along by the rotating ribbon-shapecl or cord-shaped friction member. The friction member in such embodiments generally is attached at its end away from the drum to a pulley which, too, is mounted freely rotatable on the force-intensifying device shaft, said pulley being coupled to the shaft of the bobbin support by means of a system of pulleys and belts. The system of belts suitably may be made up of chains, smooth belts, smooth rope belts, sprocket belts, sprocket rope belts, or combinations thereof. By having the shaft of the grooved traverse drum coincide wit-h the shaft on which there is a pivotally mounted swinging arm which carries the bobbin support, the belt transmission system need only comprise a single belt. If, for reasons of construction, it is preferred to pivotally mount the swinging arm on a different shaft, a one-belt transmission system may still be utilized by also guiding this belt over a belt pulley which is mounted freely rotatable on said different shaft.

Having been broadly described, the invention will now be further described with reference to the following drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic front view partially in section of an embodiment of the winding apparatus of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial side view of the winding apparatus of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic front view, partially in section, of an additional embodiment of the winding apparatus of the invention.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, the numeral 1 refers to a driving roller against the surface of which a cross-wound bobbin is constantly urged by means not shown. Driving roller 1 is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow by way of a motor 40 connected thereto via a shaft 3. Cross-wound bobbin 2 is mounted on a bobbin support 50 which is fixed to a shaft 4 carrying a belt pulley 5. Consequently, driving roller 1 drives not only bobbin package 2, but also belt pulley 5. Through a belt 6, a double belt pulley 7, and a second belt 8, belt pulley 5 in turn drives a belt pulley 9 mounted freely rotatable on a shaft 11 by means of a ball-bearing package 10. Belt pulley 7 is rotatable on a shaft around which the shaft 4 of the bobbin support may swing in a manner known in itself and not indicated. Also freely rotatable on shaft 11, by means of ball-bearing packages 16 and 17, is a traverse drum 15 having a groove 41 in the surface thereof. A thread guide 18 is positioned in groove 41 of grooved drum 15 and, upon rotation of the grooved drum, it is in a known manner moved to and fro in longitudinal direction and caused to traverse the surface of bobbin 2 to guide yarn 22 to be wound. Attached to the respective surfaces of belt pulley 9 and grooved drum 15, which face one another, are clamps 12 and 14 in which the ends of a cord 13 are fastened. Cord 13 is wrapped around shaft 11 in a plurality of coils. In this way the rotational movement of driving roller 1 is inter alia through belts 6 and 8, belt pulley 9, clamp 12, cord 13, and clamp 14, ultimately communicated to grooved drum 15. It will be clear that the speed so imparted to grooved drum 15 is a function of that of cross-wound bobbin 2.

Shaft 11 is driven by an electric motor 21 through a transmission system including gears 19 and 20 in the same direction of rotation as grooved drum 15, but at an angular velocity which at all times slightly exceeds that of grooved drum 15. As a result, shaft 11 communicates to cord 13 a frictional force which acts in the same direction as the force exerted upon cord 13 by clamp 12. In this way said frictional force actually reduces the frictional force required for driving bobbin 2 by means of driving roller 1. The speed imparted to shaft 11 by motor 21 is controlled so as to vary depending upon the yarn build-up in package 2 by means of a motor control device 60, which through element 61, senses changes in yarn build-up and line 62 actuates changes in the speed of motor 21. A speed control of this type is well known per se and is shown, for example, in US. Patent No. 2,950,067 dated August 23, 1960. By wrapping cord 13 around shaft 11 in a sufficiently high number of coils, the traverse motion of thread guide 18 may be controlled with the use of only a relatively small torque in shaft 4 of the bobbin support.

A slightly modified embodiment of the apparatus is provided with a hydraulic damper located between the belt pulley 9 and grooved drum 15, which damper serves to prevent the occurrence of resonant torsional vibration between these two members. In still another embodiment of the apparatus a damping system is provided between grooved drum 15 and the machine frame, not shown. This system may in a known manner, mechanically, hydraulically or magnetically, exert a damping countertorque on the grooved drum.

With reference to FIGURE 3 the members indicated therein by like numerals, employed in FIGURE 1, are similar to such members of FIGURE 1. In addition, freely rotatable on shaft 4 are a belt pulley 26 and a belt pulley 33 which is provided with a hub 25. Attached to shaft 4 and belt pulley 26 are a bracket 30 and a clamp 32, respectively, to which the ends of cord 13 are attached. Bracket 30 passes through a slotted hole 24 in belt pulley 26. Cord 13, which may be flattened or ribbon-shaped as shown in FIGURE 3, is wrapped in a plurality of coils around hub 25 of belt pulley 33. Grooved traverse drum 15 is mounted on a shaft 23 which is caused to rotate by means of a pulley 28 mounted thereon and a belt 27 communicating to belt pulley 26. Similarly, to the embodiment of FIGURE 1, shaft 4 of the bobbin support drags along grooved traverse drum 15, but in this case by way of bracket 30, cord 13, clamp 32, belt pulley 26, belt 27, belt pulley 28 and shaft 23. Belt pulley 33 is rotated at a slightly higher speed than belt pulley 26 by means of electric motor 21, transmission system 19 and 20, a shaft 36, a belt pulley 35 mounted thereon and a belt 34. Similarly, to the shaft 11 in FIGURE 1, hub 25 of belt pulley 33 thus communicates to cord 13, wrapped around hub 25, a frictional force which contributes to the driving of the traverse mechanism.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detai ed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising a cross-wound bobbin fixedly mounted on a rotatable shaft, a rotatable roller adapted to operatively engage the surface of said bobbin and drive said bobbin, a device for guiding yarn onto the surface of said bobbin, means for causing said yarn-guiding device to traverse the surface of said bobbin including a rotatable drum having a groove in the surface thereof in which said groove said yarn-guiding device is positioned and adapted for movement along the length of said drum, and coupling means for communicating the rotation, of said bobbin-mounting shaft to said drum including a force-intensifying device, said force-intensifying device including a friction member and a shaft adapted to rotate in the same direction as but at a greater speed than the speed imparted to said friction member, said friction member being in slidable frictional engagement with said shaft of said force-intensifying device.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said shaft of said force-intensifying device supports said drum in a freely rotatable manner.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said friction member of said force-intensifying device is attached directly to said shaft for mounting said bobbin.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said friction member of said force-intensifying device is a ribbon-shaped member which is wound a plurality of turns about said shaft of said force-intensifying device.

5. The apparatus according to claim I wherein said friction member of said force-intensifying device is a cord-shaped member which is wound a plurality of turns about said shaft of said force-intensifying device.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means for driving said shaft of said force-intensifying device and means for varying said driving means of said force-intensifying device, said varying means being sensitive and responsive to a change in the amount of yarn build-up on said bobbin.

7. A winding apparatus comprising a cross-wound bobbin fixedly mounted on a rotatable shaft, a rotatable roller adapted to operatively engage the surface of said bobbin and drive said bobbin, a device for guiding yarn onto the surface of said bobbin, means for causing said yarnguiding device to traverse the surface of said bobbin including a rotatable drum having a groove in the surface thereof in which said groove said yarn-guiding device is positioned and adapted for movement along the length of said drum, means for mounting said drum including a shaft upon which said drum is freely rotatable about its axis, means for driving said drum-mounting shaft, and coupling means for communicating the rotation of said bobbin-mounting shaft to said drum including a belt pulley mounted freely rotatable on said drum-mounting shaft and a friction member in slidable frictional engagement with said drum-mounting shaft and attached to said drum and said belt pulley, said means for driving said drum-mounting shaft being adapted to drive same at a speed greater than the speed imparted to said drum by said coupling means.

8. The apparatus according to claim '7 wherein said friction member of said force-intensifying device is a ribhon-shaped member which is wound a plurality of turns about said shaft of said force-intensifying device.

9. The apparatus according to claim '7 wherein said friction member of said force-intensifying device is a cord-shaped member which is wound a plurality of turns about said shaft of said force-intensifying device.

It). The apparatus according to claim 7 including means for controlling said driving means for said drum-mounting shaft, said control means being sensitive and responsive to a change in the amount of yarn build-up on said bobbin.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,809,890 6/1931 De Wolf.

FOREIGN PATENTS 819,861 9/1959 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Examiner. 

1. AN APPARATUS COMPRISING A CROSS-WOUND BOBBIN FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON A ROTATABLE SHAFT, A ROTATABLE ROLLER ADAPTED TO OPERATIVELY ENGAGE THE SURFACE OF SAID BOBBIN AND DRIVE SAID BOBBIN, A DEVICE FOR GUIDING YARN ONTO THE SURFACE OF SAID BOBBIN, MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID YARN-GUIDING DEVICE TO TRAVERSE THE SURFACE OF SAID BOBBIN INCLUDING A ROTATABLE DRUM HAVING A GROOVE IN THE SURFACE THEREOF IN WHICH SAID GROOVE SAID YARN-GUIDING DEVICE IS POSITIONED AND ADAPTED FOR MOVEMENT ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID 